Young Beardie "Hicupping"

[Kodiak]

Hello, I have young beardie he is about 4 months old now, i few weeks ago i almost lost him, he was being over come by his cagemate female but he was taken out and put in his own home just in time, he has been slowly recovering from his ordeal with the female and now since last night he has started doing like a hiccup-sneeze. he is breathing very heavy and is eating very little and he sleepy if he is in his house. He has plenty of fresh salad always available and he is offered live food often but refuses, he did eat a small meal worm. any help would be greatly appriciated, thank you for your help with my little guy.

 

[Mistyck]

Mealworms aren't good for beardies....He would be better off with crickets, dubais, or soft bodied worms.

If you hold your dragon up to your ear, do you hear any wheezing, or crackling in his chest while he breathes?

What type of substrate (flooring) do you have him on, how close can he get to the UVB, and what kind is it?

 

[Kodiak]

I have heard that meal worms are not the best choice for beardies, i have been cutting back on them but isn't it better for him to eat something instead of nothing? i try the other foods, he was eating crickets but about 2 weeks ago something happened with his health and i almost lost him, he is comming around but its slow, he will eat his salad usually, i have tried hornworms that he loved and then lost interest in them and won't even look at them now. he will eat the dubia roaches now and then, but it seems if the food runs away he won't go after it. i think he has had 1 cricket in the last week he wants no part of them. his basking spot where he spends most of his time is about 5"s away from the end of the UVB light i have a 24" reptisun 10.0 light in his house. thanks for your help.

He has the reptile carpet on the floor of his house, its cleaned every couple days and after each bowel movement.

And he has not hiccuped or sneazed today, his breathing goes from normal to sometimes hard. i keep his basking spot at about 97 to 101 usually the weather has been so hot here i have been turning the night heat light off so he can cool down alittle so the night temp has not dropped below 74 in his house.

 

[Mistyck]

If you hold your dragon up to your ear, do you hear any wheezing, or crackling in his chest while he breathes?

^ That's what I'm worried most about right now...If you hear any of that going on, then he could have a respiratory infection.

 

[Kodiak]

i'm pretty sure all i heard was his heart beating, i don't think i heard anything else,

 

[Mistyck]

Hmm...He might be stressed still.

Have you bathed him?

 

[Kodiak]

He gets a bath every other day to help keep him hydrated, i was just petting him and he got real big he bearded up and he filled himself with air. i took him out and he started to sneeze, i think its best to take him to the vet on monday, any ideas on what i should do for him untill then? he is eating he just had some of his salad,

He shows no color signs of stress, his underside is white with no color change.

 

[Esther19]

A vet visit is a really good idea.